The Mob Talker
by LinkedGaming
Summary: Scorpio, a young but tough adventurer, comes across a mysterious potion in a dungeon. But when attacked by a rouge creeper in the woods he learns its powers; he can now see mobs as they see each other and speak to them. This story is back and even better than before! -Link
1. The Potion

"Just one more swing... just one more swing... just one-" A swing of his pickax- "more-" another swing- "damn-" and another- "swing!"

With the final swing, the wall of stone standing in his way collapsed, exposing a room made of moss-covered cobble with nothing but a small wooden chest and a lone cage in the center, nearly consumed in fire.

"There we go…" He muttered to himself. "So he wasn't lying - I'm actually surprised." He pulled out and quill and a small leather book from his back pocket and began muttering as he wrote. "Scorpio's Journal, year 3, day 83: I've located the dungeon Davlan told me about. I wasn't really expecting to though, given his reputation with information, namely the several possible locations of the Ender Stronghold." He put the journal back in his pocket.

As he turned around, he saw a Zombie emerging from the ground near the cage.

"Forgot all about you, didn't I?" Scorpio said as he unsheathed his sword with a new pure diamond blade.

The Zombie had finally finished standing up, and as it look around for the intruder it had been summoned to kill, it took sight on Scorpio.

"Took you long you, ugly," Scorpio taunted as he twirled the sword around in his hand. "Now come on, I haven't got all day."

The Zombie let out a loud groan and quickly rushed at Scorpio, arms outward, aiming to kill. As it took its first swipe, its arm was quickly stopped by the side of Scorpio's blade.

"Goodbye," Scorpio whispered with a smirk as he spun around and cut the Zombie clean in half, its body quickly turning to ash, leaving nothing behind but a few leftover pieces of flesh. "Now let's take care of you before you decide to make any more of your little buddies." He sheathed his sword on his back and pulled an iron pickax off of his belt. He took a sharp swing with his pickax, causing the flames to die and the metal cage to shatter to pieces at his feet.

"Good riddance," He said as he looked up to see the chest in the corner of the dungeon. He walked over to it and took a deep breath before kicking it open.

His eyes widened as he saw the sky blue diamond lying in the corner of the chest between some bars of iron and an empty bucket. He put most of the chest's contents in his backpack.

"Looks like that's it," He said to himself as he stood up, his backpack nearly full of items. He checked again to make sure that he'd gotten everything important and noticed something that he hadn't noticed before: A small, unlabeled bottle containing a strange, thin, black liquid. He'd never seen a potion of this color before, but nevertheless he put it in his backpack.

He turned quickly at the sound of bones hitting each other somewhere close by.

As the sound of the bones came closer and closer, he hoisted his backpack on and set off towards the surface; he'd take the potion for the village to see if he could get any information on what it could do.

* * *

As he walked into the village, Scorpio was immediately greeted by most of the residents of the small town.

"Hello Scorpio! Would you like to purchase an iron sword? Only costs nine emeralds!" Yelled Draejan, the the village's main weapon smith.

"No, thank you! I'm fine with my normal clothes!" Scorpio yelled back politely, walking towards Draejan's stand.

Scorpio had never taken an interest in the heavy armor that the villagers wished to obtain for protection. He preferred his usual outfit - a gray hoodie, pitch black sneakers, and a pair of slightly torn denim jeans - and without it he just didn't feel like himself. However, that didn't stop him from forging some armor every now and then to sell for a few emeralds.

"Draejan, by the way, have you seen Fiona?" Scorpio asked as he approached the stand, hoping to find out what the potion he'd recently found was and what it was made of.

"Yes, actually, I saw her at her house a few minutes ago to pick up supplies. Charming girl - are you finally taking an interest in her?" Draejan asked mockingly.

"Very funny," Scorpio replied bitterly. "Don't you have a job to do?"

Scorpio had always been questioned by the villagers for not taking an interest in any of the girls in the village. His adventuring habits combined with his work had left him with no time to have a relationship. Many women sought after him, however, mostly due to his heroic role in the village; he had stopped several Zombie raids and had donated a plethora of personally gathered resources to the village.

He climbed the steps to Fiona's house and knocked on the door, which she opened almost immediately.

"Oh, Scorpio! Hi! Come in!" She greeted him, moving aside so he could enter her small home. So, what'cha here for? Need a place to stay for the night or something?"

Fiona had been Scorpio's best friend ever since he'd found the village. She was a sweet girl, especially towards Scorpio for a flattering (albeit annoying) reason. She had shoulder length brown hair and beautiful emerald-colored eyes.

"No, I think I'll be able to make my way home tonight," Scorpio answered. "But while I'm here, do you have food that I can munch on? I'm running pretty low and I'm starving."

"No, I don't, sorry," She told him. "But if you're hungry, and you're not busy, me and you could maybe, say, got out to one of the restaurants and eat together."

"Sorry, but no," He told her flatly. "I've told you before I'm not interested in a relationship right now."

If there was one thing that annoyed Scorpio the most it was the village girls' fascination with him; he was a handsome kid, which the girls his age felt they needed to remind him - constantly. An issue that came with this was that the girls that owned the shops he bought herbs and food from spent more time flirting with him than they did selling him the things he needed. Scorpio was blonde, decently tall, pale-skinned, and had a decent build from all his working and exploring.

"I thought you you were already in a relationship, anyway."

"Not anymore," Fiona sighed. Fiona had never been able to maintain a relationship for a long time, and she usually had a new boyfriend every month. Scorpio knew that she wasn't a whore by any means, she just had an issue with starting relationships with bad guys. "I caught him kissing another girl behind the library…"

"Oh, well sorry to hear that Fiona…"

"It's nothing, really," She told him, but from the way she spoke, about it Scorpio could tell that it definitely bothered her.

"Look Fiona," Scorpio started, hoping to find something polite to say that would make her feel better. "Maybe… maybe in a year or two when - and if - I've found - I mean, if I've done what I need to do, then me and you can try to get together and start a relationship."

"You'd really be with me?" Fiona asked happily, to which Scorpio nodded. "But why me? Why not some other girl?"  
"Because I've known you longer than I have anyone else here," He answered. "You're a cute girl Fiona, and you're my best friend, but I can't focus on a relationship right now; I have too many caves to explore, too many Undead to slay, too much work to do with Stertic. You understand me, right?"

"Oh- no - of course, I know what you mean. I have school work to do and I have to work with my dad on the farm… but yeah, I understand."

"I'm glad you do," Scorpio told her, and then the whole reason he'd come to visit Fiona in the first place came back to him. "Fiona, your mother was a Witch, right?"

"Of course she was, why do you ask?" Fiona was proud of her mother being a Witch. Fiona's mother was a beautiful and kind young woman who used to own a large Apothecary in the village before she went out one day a year ago to gather some ingredients and never came back. Fiona had inherited all of her mother's belongings, her knowledge of alchemy, and, according to Scorpio, a good portion of her looks.

"Do you still have her book of potions?" He asked her eagerly. One thing Fiona had inherited upon her mother's disappearance was her large book on potions, which had saved Scorpio's life on numerous occasions.

"Yes, I think so. Why do you ask? Find another potion in a dungeon?"

They were both very used to this routine by now; Scorpio goes mining, Scorpio finds potion, Scorpio brings the potion to Fiona, Fiona gets her book of potions and tells Scorpio what it is and what it's made of.

"Yeah, it's really thin and black colored," He pulled the potion out of his backpack and set it on the table for Fiona to examine. "Can you see what you can find?"  
"I'll do my best," She told him as she walked into her room to look for the book.

Her potion book may have been extremely useful, but it didn't contain information on all the potions ever created.

She returned with the book and sat down at the table across from Scorpio and began searching, flipping through page after page in an attempt to find one that had information on a potion that matched the one Scorpio had found.

"Anything?" Scorpio asked somewhat impatiently as Fiona approached the end of the book, to which she shook her head.

"Sorry Scorpio," She sighed as she reached the last page and shut the book. "My mother didn't put anything on whatever _this_-" She held up the bottle and shook it lightly. "-is."  
"Hey, well thanks for looking." He told he put the potion into his pocket and stood up. "I'm sure I'll find something out eventually."

"Alright, thanks for coming over," Fiona said as she got up to go put the book away.

Scorpio was right in front of the door when he heard Fiona say "Wait, Scorpio?"

"Yeah?" He turned around to look at her and saw that she looked nervous. "Fiona, is there something wrong?"

"No, but… earlier, when you said that I was a cute girl," She looked down. "D-did you mean it, or were you just, you know, trying to make me feel better?"

"Well, yeah, of course I meant it," He told her. "Why wouldn't I? I mean, you're a really cute girl, and a lot of guys here feel that way, no just me; but yeah, I meant everything I said - why do you ask?"  
"No- no reason…" She stuttered as she looked back at Scorpio like a shy little girl. "I - I guess you better get going before it gets dark."  
"Yeah, you're probably right," Scorpio said.

Night. Everyone with sense was - for lack of a better word - absolutely terrified of the night. It wasn't a childlike fear of the dark that people were terrified of, it was the creatures that lurked in the dark and moved around at night.

Undead abominations roaming the wild unchecked, preying on the innocent humans that reside in the village; Acromantulas - giant, vicious spiders the size of large dogs which could only see in the dark.

Worst of all were the Creepers - the most God forsaken creatures to ever walk to face of the planet. Creepers were sneaky, quiet, and destructive beasts. Few who encountered them in the wild have ever lived to tell the tale. In fact, killing one was unheard of before Scorpio had entered the village.

Scorpio looked out of the window and saw that the sun was beginning to set.

"I guess it's best I leave now before it gets too dark. Goodnight, Fiona." He said as he reached out for the handle of the door.

"Scorpio…" She whispered.

"Yeah, Fi-?" He began, but Fiona had pulled him into a passionate hug before he could finish.

"You've never been out this late before," She whispered, sounding worrisome. "Please, be careful, and come visit as soon as you can."

"Fiona, I'll be fine, you know I will." He told her comfortingly.

She kissed him lightly on the cheek and said "Just stay safe…" before walking into her room and closing the door behind her.

Scorpio tried to think of something to say to her, but instead walked out of the house and towards his home, still feeling the spot on his cheek where she had kissed him.

* * *

As he walked through the forest alone with nothing but some minerals, his sword, and an unidentified black potion, Scorpio kept getting the feeling that he was being watched. He attempted to pull out his sword, but it had somehow gotten caught in its scabbard, so he instead walked a bit faster. he heard a faint '_hiss' _coming from the wooded area to his right. He quickly turned to look at the spot where the sound had come from and was horrified to see a scaly, tall, four-legged green monster creeping slowly towards him.


	2. The Creeper Girl

As he walked through the forest alone with nothing but some minerals, his sword, and an unidentified black potion, Scorpio kept getting the feeling that he was being watched. He attempted to pull out his sword, but it had somehow gotten caught in its scabbard, so he instead walked a bit faster. he heard a faint '_hiss' _coming from the wooded area to his right. He quickly turned to look at the spot where the sound had come from and was horrified to see a scaly, tall, four-legged green monster creeping slowly towards him.

"No, no, no, no, no!" Scorpio repeated as the Creeper inched towards him, its loud but soft _hiss_ piercing his ears and sending chills down his spine. he reached for his sword and started moving backwards, and had just gotten his sword unstuck from its scabbard when-

"_NO!_" He yelled again; he had stumbled backwards over a tree root and dropped his sword into a lake, where it slowly sank to the bottom.

Fear was etched into Scorpios face as the Creeper slowly approached him, yet wasn't right; it didn't appear to be hostile at all. In fact, it seemed almost shy; this wasn't normal Creeper behavior, was it? This thought was quickly dismissed, however, as another more important thought struck him.

"The potion…" he whispered to himself as he attempted to remain calm. Panicking wasn't something he could afford to do at the moment, so he didn't.

He continued to move backwards and weighed his options: if the potion was helpful then hopefully he'd live, but if it wasn't he was as good as dead anyway.

Searching his pocket for the potion, he continued to scoot backwards along the ground, the Creeper getting closer and closer.

His fingers wrapped around something round and made of glass. He pulled the potion out of his pocket and got up clumsily. Uncorking the bottle, he moved behind a tree and gulped it down.

The pain he felt was unbearable; it was as if he had just been stabbed by hundreds of blades all over his body. With the feeling that gravity had tripled, he stumbled out from behind the tree and saw the Creeper standing only feet from him, but he did not care anymore.

He was going to die, he just knew it. His throat was searing, his heart and head were pounding, his body felt as if he was being torn apart from the inside out. He yelled in pain - although he couldn't help it, he quickly realized that this was a terrible mistake.

The Creeper had been startled. It stood frozen in shock for a moment before rushing at Scorpio.

His vision had begun to go red, and as he looked at the Creeper charging towards him, he was not bothered at all as its blurred figure began to morph and distort.

As it lunged at him, his vision began to fade. The Creeper's body collided with him and he was knocked onto the ground hard. He felt sick, the pain numbed, and it was as if his very soul had been ripped from and then violently thrust back into his chest.

With a deep, shuddering breath, all his remaining energy quickly faded.

He blacked out.

* * *

"Oh my God! No! Not again - not again!"

Whose voice was that? Was he- was he alive? Where was he? So many questions ran through Scorpio's mind as he slowly began to regain consciousness.

His eyes opened slowly and he saw a girl bent over him with an extremely worried look on her face. She had long, bright, orange hair and amazing golden eyes that seemed to shine from beneath her green hood.

Scorpio groaned and thought about sitting up, but a wave of queasiness had washed over him.

"M - Mister?" The girl stuttered as Scorpio attempted - and failed - to sit up. "Are - are you okay?"

"Not… really…" Scorpio groaned.

The nauseous feeling had begun to subside and he was able to painfully sit up, his body aching with every move that he made.

"Oh, thank God!" The girl yelled, flinging her arms around Scorpio and nearly knocking what little energy he had back out of him. "I thought I'd killed you or something!"

"Glad that I'm still alive," Scorpio muttered sarcastically, politely nudging the girl off of him. "But the thing is, well, who the _hell_ are you?"

He knew he must have sounded rude, but the girl seemed not to care; she was probably too relieved at not being a murderer to be bothered by it.

"Oh, yeah, I probably _should_ introduce myself. My name's Cupa, just Cupa. She smiled and held out her hand, which Scorpio shook weakly. "Sorry about tackling you earlier. You just kinda scared me with the potion and all. When you yelled, I just thought that you were calling for - "

"Wait, wait - what are you talking about?" Scorpio asked. "It was a Creeper that was there when I drank the potion, and it tackled me, not you."

"What are _you _talking about?" Cupa asked in return, sounding confused. "I _am _a Creeper. Can't you tell?"

It took Scorpio a second to take in what Cupa had just said, but when he did, his mind started flooding with questions. One question in particular was nagging at the back of his mind more than any other. Cupa obviously saw Scorpio the same way she had before he drank the potion - which he could only assume had given him the ability to see Creepers as humans. If that was the case though, then why…-?

"Why… why aren't you trying to kill me?" Scorpio asked. "The Creepers - I mean - your kind are always trying to kill me the moment they see me.:

"Why would I want to kill you?" Cupa asked in return. "You haven't really done anything to make me want to, have you?"

"But when I'm in the forest at night the Cree - your kind," Scorpio corrected himself again. "They always try to kill me on sight."

"Runaways," She told him. "We're generally peaceful people, but every now and again a bunch of our kind come to the surface and hope to kill a human or two - but don't worry, I'm not one of them!" She added quickly as Scorpio scooted back slightly. "I just… got lost is all."

Scorpio believed that she didn't want to kill him, but didn't think she was being entirely truthful when she told him that she had gotten lost.

"But when I'm mining or exploring caves they try to kill me, too," He told Cupa. "If your kind are peaceful, then why do they attack me then?"

"You're not serious, are you?" Cupa said sounding slightly offended. "Have you ever thought that we - I don't know - don't really appreciate trespassing on our territory and destroying our land?"

Scorpio realized that she was right he had never seen Creepers as people with actual feelings or emotions before, only as heartless, bloodthirsty, abominations that killed humans simply for the fun of it.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Sorry for all the damage I've done, I suppose.  
Scorpio told Cupa, feeling slightly ashamed of himself. "I never really thought that you all minded me mining or being there - I thought you all just wanted me dead for being human."

"It's fine mister," Cupa giggled. "But I don't think I really caught your name, and I told you mine, so it's only fair."

"Oh, yeah - the name's Scorpio. Nice to meet you." He told her. "Hey, do you mind helping me up? I don't think I'll be able to do it on my own."

"Sure, thing!" Cupa said, offering her hand to him so she could help him off of the ground.

Scorpio took her hand and she tried to pull him up. However, Scorpio did most of the work; Cupa seemed to be a little on the weak side. He felt a bit dizzy at first, but the feeling passed after a few seconds. He steadied himself and looked at Cupa, now being able to see her more clearly. Her clothing was much different from the robes and dresses the girls in the village typically wear; Cupa wore a bright green hoodie that went down past her waist, making it seem as if she wasn't wearing any pants, but a pair of light blue denim shorts could just be seen underneath it. She was also wearing a pair of dark green boots that went up to just above her knees and appeared to be tight on her legs.

"Thanks," Scorpio told her. "I don't suppose you'd need me to walk you to your home, or cave, or whatever."

"I - I don't think that's an option anymore…" Cupa whispered to herself sounding a bit depressed. "I - uh - I mean, I - I'd rather not. Do… do you have somewhere I can stay - if you don't mind, of course."

"Yeah, I have a house you can stay at for a few days if that's what you need," Scorpio told her. "But why can't you go back with your people?"

"Thanks, I really appreciate it." Cupa said quickly, attempting to dodge the question.

"No problem," Scorpio told her, deciding to ignore Cupa's avoidance of the question.

He looked at the sky and saw that the sun was just beginning to rise over the tops of the trees around him; how long had he been out?

His stomach began to growl and he remembered that it must have been over a day since he last ate.

"Well, follow me I guess; let me show you the way." Scorpio said.

"Lead the way, then." Cupa said happily as she followed Scorpio down the long gravel path cutting through the forest.

* * *

As soon as the house came into sight, Cupa almost immediately became interested in the decorations, foods, and furniture that she had never seen before.

She was fascinated by the various paintings Scorpio had hung around the house; enchanted by the sweets and meals that Scorpio had prepared; mesmerized by the different potions Scorpio had made over the years but never used; and dazzled by the many books Scorpio had bought in the village.

The invisibility potion had been Cupa's favorite, and as such she drank several small glass bottles of it and enjoyed teasing Scorpio by pinching and poking him and pulling pulling on his hood while he searched for her.

"Scorpio, this is amazing!" She said happily as she slowly began to reappear, the potion wearing off.

"Yeah, well, do me a favor and try to contain your enthusiasm before you run me out of potions," Scorpio chuckled as he put the empty glass bottle that earlier held the potion of invisibility into a small basket for him to reuse later.

"Sorry, but this is all so awesome!" She told him again as she ran upstairs to the living room.

Scorpio put all his remaining potions back in order on a shelf and followed Cupa upstairs.

He sat down on the other end of the couch that Cupa was laying on, hood over her eyes, and laid back on the arm of it. She looked like she was sleeping, so he reached over and grabbed a book off of the coffee table next to the couch.

As soon as he had opened the book, however, a soft voice spoke from the other end of the couch.

"Hey, Scorpio…?"

"Yeah?" He said as he looked over the top of his book.

"Thanks… thanks for letting me stay here, I mean it." She said. "I really appreciate it. People aren't usually this nice to me."

"It's nothing, Cupa," Scorpio told her, putting the book in his lap. "But I don't see why people wouldn't be nice to you. You seem like a nice girl."

"Thanks…" She smiled and sat up a bit. "I don't want to sound weird or anything but… can I get to know you better?"

"I don't see why not," Scorpio said. "You are living in my house, I guess we should get to know each other. What do you want to know?"

"I don't know, anything really…"

"Okay, how about you go first and I'll go after?"

"Alright, I guess." She said as she sat completely and put her chin on her knees. "Well, let's see where to start… I live with my father, that's one thing; my mom was - I mean, she died when I was young. I'm fourteen years old, and my favorite color is red. Most of the people I know say I'm really good at sneaking around, which I won't deny at all. I don't really have any friends - well, I have one, but she usually stays on the surface, so I don't get to see her very often. The other kids in my group just say I'm nothing but trouble…" She trailed off sounding hurt. She hugged her knees and then shook her head, trying to focus her thoughts. "Anyway, I think that's enough about me. Your turn."

"Alright, well, I don't know who my parents are, actually. I don't remember anything before I was ten, actually - it's a long story," Scorpio said as he saw the confused look on Cupa's face. "I'd rather not have to explain it right now. Anyway, my favorite color is green, I'm sixteen years old, and I'm pretty good at a lot of things really, but I'm best at building - this entire house being a good example of my skills actually. I have a few friends in the Village, and I enjoy exploring. That's about it."

Scorpio put his feet on the coffee table and stretched out before speaking.

"Hey, Cupa?"

She looked up at him from under her hood. "Hm?"

"You said your only friend was that one girl who stays up here on the surface, right?"

She nodded. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, I'm your friend, right?" Scorpio asked, smiling.

She smiled back and nodded again, before pulling her hood back over her eyes and laying down again. "Yeah… I guess we are friends…"

* * *

**Author's Note: Ugh - 4 chapter rewrites later and I'm still not happy with the final product. Oh well, I just hope you guys like it. For my followers, sorry it took so long to get this chapter out, because, like I said, I had to rewrite it four times before giving up and deciding not to keep you waiting any longer, and also because I've had some issues getting it typed up because of my teachers suddenly taking away my computer privileges. But, it's out now, and I hope you guys enjoy. Chapter 3 will be soon on the way. ~Link Skorpion (linkedgaming)  
**


	3. The Runaway

It had been three weeks since he had come across Cupa in the woods. At first, he thought maybe having a Creeper living with him wouldn't be the best of ideas, but after a few days of Cupa living with him, he realized that he enjoyed her company quite a lot. He generally spent most of his nights and days alone, feeling slightly lonely, and cut off from the world, but ever since Cupa moved in with him, he's felt happier and more noticed.

Every time Cupa lays down and sleeps on the other side of his bed at night, he feels warm and happy knowing that somebody depends on him - that somebody cares about him.

Cupa felt this way, too, but she was too shy to tell Scorpio herself.

Scorpio was out hunting in the woods when the thought that had been nagging at him for weeks had crept back up again - _why_ was Cupa unable to go back with her family, and _why_ did she insist on refusing to tell this to Scorpio?

He'd decided then that he was going to ask her one more time, and he wasn't going to let her change subjects anymore; if she was living in _his_ house, he needed to know why she couldn't be with her kind.

"Be as polite as possible," Scorpio whispered to himself as he walked down the gravel path towards his house. 'You don't want her thinking that you don't like her company."

As his house came into view through the many trees that surrounded it, Scorpio could just see Cupa through the window, laying on his living room couch in a pair of his pajamas and reading a book, something he noticed that she liked to do a lot.

He looked at the clock on the living room wall and saw that it was almost eight o'clock in the morning.

The first thing he did when he entered the house was store the cuts of meat he had gathered in a refrigerator, but he noticed that Cupa didn't greet him or even acknowledge his presence as he entered the house - was she mad at him?

Thinking about what he may have done to anger her, if she was mad at him and if he'd done anything at all, he sat down on the other end of the couch.

Scorpio glanced over to see what Cupa was reading and saw that she was reading one of his old journals from several years ago, containing information on months of exploration and discoveries. It did not bother him that she was reading it however; this was the reason he'd written the journals to begin with - for people to read them.

His mind back on his earlier decision, he began to think of ways to ask Cupa why she couldn't go back home to her family.

"You've really seen it all, haven't you?"  
She spoke so suddenly that Scorpio jumped a bit.

"I- oh- what?" He stammered as he looked over at Cupa.

"I said you've really seen it all, haven't you?

"I- what do you mean?" Scorpio asked.

"Everything - the world, the wonders, the people, all of it, you've seen it all."

"I suppose you could say that, yeah."

"Then why do you live like this, Scorpio?" Cupa turned the page of the journal.

"Live like how, exactly?" He asked.

"Alone, out here in the middle of the woods. Why don't you meet a girl, settle down, start a family?"

"You sound like the Villagers." Scorpio told her.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Cupa asked, setting the old journal down on her lap.

"Always questioning my decisions, the way I live, like there's some sort of standard for how you're supposed to live your life."

"Oh, Scorpio, no…" Cupa said softly. "I - I wasn't trying to tell you how to live your life or anything, no. I'm sorry if I sounded like I was, though."

"It's fine, Cupa." Scorpio told her. "I just have… a lot of stuff I have to do. A family? A girlfriend? I just don't have time for all that."

"No, I totally understand."

"But, anyway, I have question for _you_."

"Oh, well, ask away then." Cupa said nicely.

"Cupa…" Scorpio began. "I need to know why you can't go back to your home with other Creepers. And don't try to change subjects or shrug off the question like before, because I'm not letting you get away with it this time."

The color had drained from Cupa's face, and she look down at the book on her lap and said, "Sc- Scorpio, I- I don't know what y-" But Scorpio had cut her off.

"No, Cupa, don't lie to me. You know exactly and what I'm talking about, and I need an answer. You've been living in _my_ house for weeks now. I think I deserve to know."

"Scorpio, if you don't want me living here, than I can understand… I mean…"

'No, Cupa, of course not!" He told her. "I just want to know is all, and I think I deserve to. I like it when you're here, I promise, it's nice having you here. If it's something embarrassing or something you really don't want anyone to know, it's okay, I swear on my life that I won't judge."

"I- I- no… you- you're right. If… if I'm living here, then you deserve to know." She sighed deeply and buried her face in her hands. Scorpio could tell that whatever Cupa's reason was, she obviously wasn't proud of it. "Where should I start…? I guess… that day before…"

* * *

She walked through the cave system slowly, retracing her usual path to her spot.

Was that a noise behind her? She waited a minute but heard nothing else, so she simply dismissed it as some crumbling rock.

She was almost there, to a spot where no one could bother - a place where she could be alone and at peace.

There was the crevice, the small opening in the wall just big enough for someone her size to fit through. She stepped through it and admired the scene that stretched out before her: A tall waterfall rushed down the wall of the long ravine, its waters sparkling and reflecting the sky-blue shine of the many diamonds that grew from the walls.

cupa sat down near the edge of the ravine and crossed her legs, trying to forget the horrible day she had had.

She remembered it all too well, and the thought of what she had experienced only made her feel worse.

Every detail had been etched into her mind, and far more clearly than she would've liked: the confrontation, being shoved against the wall, the insults, the yelling, and then the fight, and all the slapping, and kicking, and the swings of fists. Worst of all by far was the sickening feeling of dread that washed over her like a tsunami at the sight of the girl who had confronted her, lying bruised and beaten at her feet, a long gash down her cheek and her nose bleeding profusely.

All of this because of some stupid rumor started by someone gone horribly wrong.

"She got what she deserved," Cupa muttered to herself heatedly. "I never did anything to her, and yet there she was, getting in my space, and insulting me, and…!" She let out a load groan in frustration and threw a rock into the water.

She was getting angry again, and she knew that she shouldn't. Her anger had already gotten her into more than enough trouble that day; the last thing she needed was for herself to do something reckless and stupid that she would regret.

Several deep breaths later, she had calmed herself down. She looked down into the waters below her with a sigh and admired the blood-red glow of the redstone chunks growing out of the rocks under the water, and the shine of the diamonds in the ravine walls.

The diamonds were reflecting her image back at her, and it was then that she saw them - three teenage girls standing right behind her their faces reflected off the diamonds.

"You!?" Cupa yelled; she turned around and immediately recognized the girl in the center as the girl she had fought earlier.

The long cut Cupa had left down her cheek had healed, yet a scar of the exact same size was clearly visible.

"How did you get in here!?" Cupa yelled as she stood up but the three girls ignored her. "I said -!"

She was caught off guard; the two girls that had been brought along charged Cupa, grabbing each of her arms and restraining her.

"Let go of me!" Cupa yelled in protest, struggling to break free of their grip. "Get off!"

Again, the three girls ignored her, and instead her earlier attacker spoke.

"So, what are _you_ doing in here, Cupa?" She asked, taking a step forward; she looked absolutely livid, yet her voice remained calm, which only seemed to further intimidate Cupa. "Think of ways to finish me off? How to cut me out of the picture for good?"

"Let _go!_ Get them off!" Cupa yelled again. "I don't know what you're talking about! I don't have anything against you!"

Cupa continued to struggle for freedom, but it was no use; there were two of them holding her back, and Cupa knew that she was barely strong enough to be able to free herself from one of them, much less two of them.

The girl slowly walked up to Cupa and put their faces close together.

She looked Cupa in the eyes and whispered, "It's not nice to lie, Cupa."

The breath was knocked out of her before she could say anything back. She felt something metallic tasting rise up her throat, and she coughed it up. Cupa had been kneed in the stomach, and hard.

She struggled for breath; it was as if her lungs had stopped working.

"I'm… not… lying…" Cupa choked. "I… swear…"

"I said don't lie!" The girl snarled, throwing her knee up into Cupa's gut once more.

The second blow had hit Cupa even harder than the first; everything went red for what seemed like forever, and then it came back into focus, yet everything was now extremely blurred and distorted.

Everything sounded distant, as if she were miles away from the girl speaking. She was only able to catch bits of what the girl was saying.

"-think she's had enough. Let's get it over with then. throw her off!"

Cupa looked down and saw nothing but the stone floor, stained with red from the blood that dripped from her bottom lip.

The two girls holding Cpua up slowly dragged her along the floor, her boots scraping the cold rock beneath her.

A heave, a toss, and she was falling - falling hundreds of feet into the ravine below.

She tried to scream out ot to call for help, but her vocal cords seemed to have failed her. She couldn't even reach out, for her body had gone limp.

The wind brushed up post her and the last thing she saw was her hair whipping around in front of her before everything faded to black.

* * *

A hand stuck out near the edge of the water, groping around blindly.

Cupa hoped to find something- anything- that she could use to heave herself out of the cold water that engulfed her body.

Then she felt wet stone, and struggled to pull herself up and out of the water.

She finally managed and collapsed on the hard, cold, wet stone, shivering and coughing while gasping for breath.

Wondering where she was and what had happened, Cupa lay panting on the hard floor; images and memories played themselves in front of her eyes like a terrible movie that she wished not to watch.

It was all too much for Cupa, and she got on all fours near the edge of the water, head over the lake, and began retching and coughing, her sick tainting the pure and clear water she had vomited in.

Cupa wiped her mouth on her sleeve and fell over onto her side.

She was beaten, shivering, wet and scared, yet _what_ had she ever done to deserve any of this; why was it always _her_ who was singled out; _her_ that was blamed for everything; _her_ that everybody seemed to hate with a passion - _why?_

Eventually, she had warmed up and dried off, so she rolled over and thought.

She knew what she needed to do. Cupa needed to prove to her group that she wasn't weak and defenseless. She needed to find a way to get her group to stop looking down upon her like a helpless, ignorant child.

But what could she do? What could Cupa possibly do that was so unforgettable that the others in the group would no longer loath her, but instead look up to her like a hero?

She thought, and thought, and thought, thinking of ways to earn the respect of her groupmates.

Only one thing seemed to be possible, and as much as she hated the thought of doing it, it was the only way.

Cupa was going to the surface.

Thinking it through was all Cupa did for several minutes before she had finally devised a plan: She would wait until midnight, when it was dark so that she would not be spotted by any human Hunters as easily as during the day.

She would then blend in with the Runaways for a few days and then come back; although she'd tell the other kids that she had gone to the surface, she would make sure to tell any adult who asked that she had simply gotten lost.

But she would need proof that she had been to the surface or else the others may not believe her.

A pumpkin - she would bring back a pumpkin, something nobody in her group had ever seen before, only heard about. It would be all of the proof she'd need.

The hardest part would be getting to the surface and back without being spotted.

Cupa was not worried about this, however; she was excellent at sneaking around without getting caught, and she trusted that her skills would not fail her.

She found an exit out of the ravine and eventually made her way back to her family's part of the cave unnoticed.

Had her father even noticed that she was gone? She wouldn't put it past him.

Cupa didn't sleep that night, only waited until midnight for her chance to prove herself.

She _would_ earn everyone's respect, or she would die trying.

* * *

Cupa got up again to check what time it was.

A hole in the ceiling showed her that the moon was directly above her.

It was midnight.

Food - yes, she'd need food, at least enough for a few days, and a change of clothes, just in case the ones she was leaving with got ruined or torn up.

She packed everything up and double checked the time before setting off, headed towards an entrance to the cave and her exit to the surface.

A large wall for her to climb was the only thing that stood in her way of respect, but she would climb.

Within minutes, she was already half way up the wall. She was going to make it; she would win her group's respect; she was three-fourths of the way there; nothing could stop her.

Except -

"Cupa!?"

Her heart skipped a beat and she jumped violently, causing one of the rocks she was holding onto to crumble in her hands. She fell several feet and scraped her knee badly on the wall before catching herself.

She had been spotted.

Her heartbeat rising quickly, Cupa continued to climb, picking up the pace, despite the painful stinging in her left knee.

"Cupa, get back down here!" She heard a man beneath her yell out.

The sound of rocks shifting below her told her that whoever had spotted her was not climbing after her, and much faster than Cupa was.

Cupa climbed as fast as her arms and legs would allow her, but she could tell that she was still not faster than the man below her.

She was nearly there; only a few more feet; three more feet; two feet; she could smell the fresh surface air; she was only a foot away; the man below her was fast but not fast enough to stop her; she reached out and felt the grass beneath her fingers.

Something tightened around Cupa's ankle and began pulling her back down. She looked down and saw that she was wrong - the man who had spotted her _had_ caught up with her, pulling her down so that she could not pull herself up onto the grass above her.

She did not recognize the man, even now that he was up close, but that did not matter to her. She wasn't going to take the chance of him being authority.

"Let go of me!" Cupa yelled at the man, kicking her leg back in an attempt to shake the man off.

Her foot collided with the man harshly, and he let go, allowing her to pull herself onto the cold grass before a spin chilling _CRACK_ echoed from somewhere many feet below her in the cave's entrance.

The color drained from her face; she did not even look down into the cave, for she didn't to see what was below her to know what had just happened: she had kicked the man in the face and the blow had knocked him out. He had fallen many feet below her, straight to the hard, stone ground beneath.

Whoever the man was, he would no longer be able to chase Cupa or stop her.

He was dead.

* * *

Scorpio tried to comfort Cupa, tell her that it would be okay, but he'd never be able to relate.

Cupa cried for several minutes before she spoke again.

"II can't go back now!" She sobbed into his shoulder. "They'll have f-found his- his-!"

"They'll have found the guy," Scorpio finished for her.

Scorpio could tell that Cupa had never felt so horrible in all her life, and he wanted to do anything he could to comfort her and cheer her up; he had never been able to handle seeing girls cry, as it always made him feel bad for some reason, yet something about seeing Cupa crying on his shoulder really bothered him, making him feel as though he was sharing her emotions and feeling her pain.

"Y- y- yeah," She continued. "Th- they'll f- find him and realize that I'm m- missing, and they'll know that… th-that I , that I d-did… _it_ and th- that I ran away! And if I g- go back…" Cupa buried her face in her hands and began to cry even harder.

Cupa didn't need to finish; Scorpio understood enough to know that Runaways were sentence to death if they returned or were caught, and not only was Cupa a Runaway, but she had also killed another member of the group, albeit accidentally.

"Cupa…" Scorpio began, putting a hand on her shoulder comfortingly, but he couldn't think of anything to say to her. One look into her tear-filled eyes however, seemed to have put the words right into his mouth. "You don't have to go back, because you can live here as long as you want, and as long as you're living here, I won't let anyone hurt you."

"Sc- Scorpio… thank you…" Cupa whispered.

"Don't mention it, Cupa," He told her. Looking at the clock, he saw that it was nearly noon. "Hey, how about you and I have some lunch and then tomorrow the two of us can hang out and have some fun. Would you enjoy that?"

"Yeah, I guess I would," Cupa said, her eyes still red from crying, but a small smile still visible on her face. "Do you think you can maybe tell me about some of these adventures you've been on tonight, though?"

"Sure, Cupa," Scorpio returned her smile. "I don't see why not."

"So, what's… what's for lunch?"

"Your favorite."

"Pumpkin pie?" Cupa sat up and asked excitedly.

"Yup." Scorpio answered.

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" Cupa told Scorpio happily before hugging him tightly and swiftly kissing him on the cheek.

Cupa ran into the dining room and sat down, eagerly waiting for Scorpio to prepare her favorite meal.

Cupa enjoyed living with Scorpio more than anything. Maybe she did the right thing by running away; all she knew was that the day she met Scorpio in the woods had to be the luckiest day of her life so far.

Scorpio was the first person besides her mother to show her kindness and caring; who enjoyed her company; who didn't regard her as a waste of time and space.

Cupa may not know whether running away from home was a good idea, or whether she'd ever be able to return, but she cared not. All she cared about was the fact that Scorpio really cared about her, and she loved him more than anything in the world for it.

* * *

_**A/N: Sorry, guys, for this chapter taking so long. I had it almost done and then the World of Warcraft Iron Horde Invasion Patch 6.0.3 came out and... I got distracted.**_

_**For those who read the original Chapter 3, yes, I did a LOT of revising to where the Confrontation Scene (as I call it) in the Ravine, making it almost ENTIRELY different.**_

_**Also made things less... flirtatious between Cupa and Scorpio.**_

_**Thanks for reading, and I promise Ch. 4 will come out soon.**_

_**Beware the Living; long live the Forsaken!**_

_**~Link (LinkedGaming)**_


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